How to Survive Caring for a Puppy

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You decided to get a puppy, you got the puppy, and now you've got your tired face in your hands and you're wondering, "What have I done!?"

Systematically work toward getting your pup to sleep through the night. With crate training, the process goes as follows:[1]

Get your pup acquainted with the crate.

When he goes to sleep, set your alarm for 2-3 hours later (try to set it for before he'll need a potty break).

Take him to his potty area and encourage him to do his business. Remember: Potty, not party. Do not play, do not cuddle, do not give your pup the impression that overnight potty trips are good for anything but potty.

Take him back to his crate.

Repeat 2-3 hours later, again and again, through the night. This will be awful for you but it'll teach your pup that potty breaks happen on your schedule, not his. It will also hopefully avoid the situation in which he has to relieve himself so badly that he whines/yelps/barks desperately for your assistance with this matter.

Every night, increase the waiting period by 15 minutes. If the first night you did potty breaks every 2 hours, the next night do them every two hours and fifteen minutes, the next night every two hours and thirty minutes. Slow down if he ends up yelping or having an accident in his crate, though. Eventually he should be able to sleep through the night without a potty break.

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 4,889 times.